The city is looking to charge $4.50 to non-residents, saying paid parking at 182 city spots could generate more than $1 million in revenue.
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Indian Rocks Beach is one of the few places along the barrier islands that don’t require paid parking, but the city said that could soon change.
City commissioners held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss a potential paid parking pilot program, which they say will help address big needs. The city is looking to charge $4.50 to non-residents, saying paid parking at 182 city spots could generate more than $1 million in revenue. Hours of enforcement would be from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The city is also voting on increasing parking violations from $75 to $100, but some business owners say it could cause problems by pushing beachgoers into their lots.
“We have some cones that say, ‘No beach parking, customer parking only.’ We can only police that so much. We’re hoping that 90 percent of the people will abide by that and find a parking spot,” Joanne Inguaggiato with Kooky Coconut said.
There’s no start date yet for the pilot program, but after six months of it being in place, it would come back to the commission for a discussion.